The State System did not increase tuition this year, keeping the figure at $3,468 for Pennsylvania residents. It marked the first time since 1983-84 that tuition did not go up and followed an increase of only $100 in 1997-98.

The Board will wait until after passage of the 1999-2000 state budget to make a tuition decision for the next academic year.

The System’s proposed operating budget includes increases in costs associated with personnel, new facilities coming on-line, instructional and administrative equipment needs, deferred maintenance and debt service for the Academic Facilities Renovation Program.

Revenue projections have been predicated on an enrollment projection that reflects a modest System-wide increase in enrollment next year of 0.7 percent.

“Our appropriation request is based on real needs,” said Board Chairman F. Eugene Dixon Jr. “It represents the amount necessary to enable our universities to continue to offer a high quality, affordable education to all of our students.”

The System has taken numerous steps in recent years to help control costs, and remains committed to a continuous improvement program designed to encourage the universities to operate even more efficiently, said Chancellor James H. McCormick. The System also is engaged in a Systemic Change Initiative, which should result in additional long-term savings and improvements to the way the universities are run.

In addition to its general appropriations request, the Board of Governors also has approved several special purpose appropriations requests for the next fiscal year. They are: $14 million for the Keystone Initiative for Science, Advanced Technology Education and Workforce Development; $1.67 million for social equity initiatives; $1.3 million for efforts to help ensure standards of excellence in teaching and learning; $500,000 for Cheyney University Enhancement; and $433,000 for the McKeever Environmental Learning Center.

The major component of the Keystone Initiative would be the establishment of the Keystone Institute for Science and Advanced Technology, which would focus on increasing the number of students prepared for the workplace of the future by enhancing existing degree programs and developing new programs to address workforce needs in Pennsylvania.

The initiative also would provide funding for the purchase of science and technology equipment and for the full implementation of the System’s instructional technology plan.

The special purpose appropriation for social equity initiatives would provide for the continuation of programs designed to recruit disadvantaged students to System universities, including the widely successful partnership programs with school districts in and around Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Erie and Meadville.

The PA-16: Statewide Collaborative to Ensure Standards of Excellence in Teaching and Learning would support the initial efforts of the System, state Department of Education and other agencies and organizations responsible for education reform in Pennsylvania. It would allow for a wide range of regional and local projects, all intended to support successful implementations and assessments of high quality standards and to align resulting high school graduation requirements with admission standards of participating universities.

The Cheyney University Keystone Academy is an initiative developed by the State System in collaboration with the administration and state Department of Education in partial response to recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. The academy would admit a select group of 50 students per year, each of whom would receive a full scholarship covering the cost of tuition, room and board. All participants would be residents of Pennsylvania and would be enrolled in high-need academic majors, including computer science; hotel, restaurant and institutional management; middle school certification; geographic information systems; urban education; and pre-professional studies.

The McKeever Environmental Learning Center was created by the Commonwealth in 1974 to assist citizens of all ages in becoming better stewards of the earth’s resources. Its programs are administered by Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.

The State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Nearly 350,000 alumni of State System universities live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional education centers.